Ecuador to Pump Over OPEC Oil Limit

Written by Benoit Faucon at The Wall Street Journal

Ecuador has broken ranks with fellow OPEC members as the South American country’s energy minister said it could no longer hold up its end of an agreement to cut oil production. Ecuador is among the smallest producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but the news is a symbolic setback for the 14-nation cartel, which has tried to juice the oil market by withholding oil supplies. OPEC’s output cuts have so far failed to raise prices, which remain stuck at or below levels in November, when the group struck its original agreement.